Squirming Dr Chris Brown grilled about new ‘love’ on-air

It was notoriously private Dr Chris Brown’s worst nightmare: Front up to a live radio interview just as major news about his personal life leaked.

Well, this is awkward.

As news circulated today that Aussie TV presenter Dr. Chris Brown is in a new relationship, the super-private star had to front up for a pre-scheduled live radio interview and spent half his time batting away questions about his personal life.

Dr Chris appeared in-studio at Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie this morning, ostensibly to talk up Sunday’s TV Week Logie Awards on his network, Seven.

But all hosts Fitzy and Wippa wanted to talk about was the “glamorous TV publicist” he’s been quietly dating over the past few months, as reported by news.com.au.

Dr Chris Brown starts a full day of pre-Logies press – just as his new relationship hits the headlines.

Queensland-based publicist Lorraine Monforte, 41, worked behind-the-scenes at Brown’s former employer Ten for the past 13 years, but was recently made redundant by the network.

Usually one to keep his dating life private, Brown squirmed as the hosts tried to prise more details about the new romance out of him, live on-air.

“Take that smirk off your face,” Brown warned, as Wippa suggested they had “so much to talk about.”

“I do love the fact that you guys are so fixated on my happiness, but also my personal life,” he said sarcastically. “Of all the mornings where this story just happens to find its way out …”

Brown was evasive when the hosts asked how long he and Monforte had been dating – but in batting away their question, he did manage to drop the “L” word. “You know, time’s irrelevant in love, it just drifts.”

Brown’s new partner Monforte finishes up with Ten this week after 13 years. Photo: Instagram.

Brown confirmed that Monforte had met his family, and sounded very content when the hosts asked if he was happy in his new relationship.

“I am happy, thank you,” he said.

But the pair couldn’t resist making him squirm a bit more before moving on to Logies chat.

“I don’t want you to go into details, but where was the first kiss? On the lips?” Wippa asked, while Fitzy joked that he could “hear the howling of single women in Bondi right now.”

Dr Chris: More likely to be photographed with his arm around a rabbit than a woman.

But the tight-lipped star confirmed he’s “happy” with Monforte (centre, at last year’s AACTAs). Picture: Portia Large.

While he’s been a fixture on Australian television for more than 20 years, Brown has usually managed to keep his dating life under wraps. He was most recently linked to Sydney model Brooke Meredith, whom he dated from 2020 until 2022.

Speaking to Stellar in May last year, he told the outlet the “right girl will be there at the right time”, while confirming he was single at the time of publication.

“I would still like to have kids – I still feel that’s very much a priority,” he told the magazine.

“Would I like to have done something about that in the last five years? Probably. But it hasn’t worked out that way.

“If it hasn’t happened naturally and I’m not a dad yet, then I’m OK with that. I’m not worried. I feel like it will happen when it happens. The last thing I want to do is force it and end up in a situation where I feel like I’ve rushed it. But, yeah, I’m taking my sweet time.”

Originally published as Squirming Dr Chris Brown grilled about new ‘love’ on-air